Bringing Canadian birds to NAFA

[Fawkes]

Ok, so this isnt technically a NAFA thing, its just associated.

Having been to NAFA twice and absolutely loved it, I am hoping to go again when I'm not in school and can get the time. However, I like to hawk too, and it would be a dream to fly my own bird in these places where there are so many more bunnies than we have over here, particularly at a meet.

has anyone had any experiences taking birds across the border (not for export) they could share, any ideas for contacts to get appropriate permits and information from? Probably not next year but I would love to make it out to Nebraska or Utah.

[Lowachi]

Hi Emily;
There are some folks I know in OK that travel across to Canada, but I don't know if they're on NAFEX or not. If they don't pop up, & can ask for you. You may also want to put this up on the NAFA forum, as I know Mark Williams-Canadian Director- has done some work on it in the past.

[rkumetz]

There is a document known as a CITES certificate of ownership (aka pet passport) that will let you cross the Canadian border. I got one because I can walk to the Quebec border in 5 minutes from my home in VT. In my case it was just in case I had an accidental border crossing while hunting or working with my bird out back. I have not used it but it appears pretty straightforward. It does however require me to give 72 hour notice to have my bird inspected before crossing. How I will get my bird to notify me before he crosses on his own has not yet been determined.

[schwartze]

Ok, so this isnt technically a NAFA thing, its just associated.

Having been to NAFA twice and absolutely loved it, I am hoping to go again when I'm not in school and can get the time. However, I like to hawk too, and it would be a dream to fly my own bird in these places where there are so many more bunnies than we have over here, particularly at a meet.

has anyone had any experiences taking birds across the border (not for export) they could share, any ideas for contacts to get appropriate permits and information from? Probably not next year but I would love to make it out to Nebraska or Utah.

Hi Emily,

As far as I know I am the only person who has travelled to the US with a raptor since the adoption of the pet passport program. The program works quite well for US falconers visiting Canada, but it's a little less simple the other way around. It's common knowledge that applications for US CITES permits take more time to process that Canadian ones, but few understand why. When crossing the US/Canadian border with a raptor, the USFWS require not only CITES authorization, but also authorization from a regional USFWS migratory bird office. When an American applies for a US CITES permit (we'll use a pet passport as a pertinent example), the application is received by the CITES management authority in Arlington, VA, then re-routed to the applicant's regional migratory bird office for approval. That way, when the US applicant receives their CITES permit (pet passport), it has already been validated by the regional migratory bird office. This can all take some time. For a Canadian applying for a Canadian CITES permit (again, a pet passport), while the time from submitting the application to Gatineau, QC until a permit is received may be a scant few days, the permit does not come with the approval of one of these regional USFWS migratory bird offices. Long story short...an American can travel to Canada with nothing but a US CITES pet passport (and a few other simple documents like vet certificates and provincial import permits if required), while a Canadian needs not only a pet passport, but also a special permit from the destination's regional USFWS migratory bird office to import/re-export a migratory bird. This permit requires an application similar to the CITES permit application.

Whew!

Also, there are a number of inspections, administrative hoops to jump through, and fees to pay on both sides, each time you cross with your bird (departing and returning). The fees were recently increased for USFWS service inspections, but when I crossed with my falcon a few years back they dinged me for $95 US each way. I believe it has since doubled. The Canadians are slightly less expensive at around $38 bucks, and they don't necessarily need to see you on your way out of the country, so you may only be dinged once by them. It's important to know as well that each border port is different, and some Canadian ports waive this inspection fee, even though the inspection itself is mandatory.

In my opinion, if you are going to go to the trouble of travelling to the US with your bird, there will need to be some pretty powerful incentive to overshadow the difficulty and complication of the whole process. But if the day comes that you do decide to go through with it, drop me a line and I will try my best to help.

Regards,

Steve

[Flatwater Falconer]

http://n-a-f-a.com/members/Archives/bordercrossingUStoCanada.pdf

[rkumetz]

Donna,
I have been locked in a never ending Chinese firedrill with USFWS and CBP about this for well over a year. If you want to cross, get a "Pet Passport"
(can take months) and can give them the 3 days notice to cross it appears that life is good. At least in a relative sense when you keep in mind that you are dealing with government agencies.

The problem that I have encountered is in their method of dealing with the situation of a bird that crosses on its own while hunting, etc. The head of the CITES office is of the opinion that the rules take into account this scenario and that law enforcement knows how to deal with it. Law enforcement says you need to give them notice and have your bird inspected. I sat my bird down and had that talk with him but I suspect that it had the same effect as lecturing my teenage daughter: blah blah blah.......

We then asked for a letter saying that CITES expected that a falconer could retrieve a bird but that fell on deaf ears.

The bottom line as of now is that if you fly your bird near the border keep a tent in your trunk to camp out while they sort out the mess when you try to re-enter OR make sure you have someone around who can stand on the other side of the border to help you fly it back across the border.

[Flatwater Falconer]

Donna,
I have been locked in a never ending Chinese firedrill with USFWS and CBP about this for well over a year. If you want to cross, get a "Pet Passport"
(can take months) and can give them the 3 days notice to cross it appears that life is good. At least in a relative sense when you keep in mind that you are dealing with government agencies.


The bottom line as of now is that if you fly your bird near the border keep a tent in your trunk to camp out while they sort out the mess when you try to re-enter OR make sure you have someone around who can stand on the other side of the border to help you fly it back across the border.

Ron - Thanks for the practical account of things! I posted the web site link as a reference. However the reality of how it actually works (or doesn't work!:eek: ) is appreciated.

Best,

[YARAK191]

Move to the states and get a local bird!!!!!!!!frus):D

[rkumetz]

I AM in the states and that hasn't solved the problem for me!